NCAA:
NCAA Tournament play resumes tonight when No. 3 Oregon takes on No. 7 Michigan at 7 p.m. Later No. 1 Gonzaga faces No. 4 West Virginia at 7:30 p.m., No. 1 Kanas takes on No. 4 Purdue at 9:30 p.m., and No. 11 Xavier plays No. 2 Arizona at 10 p.m.
Former Alabama receiver Antonio "A.C." Carter has filed a fraud suit against Florida Atlantic, coach Lane Kiffin and the state of Florida. The lawsuit accuses Kiffin and the school of offering him a job to get him to help sign a "coveted prospect," and then going back on repeated assurances that the job was his. The suit was filed Tuesday in Shelby County Court and says Carter believes Kiffin and other coaches knew that he and his family had a personal relationship with the prospect. It says he later was told that two "minor misdemeanor" charges disqualified him.
Kentucky has signed men's basketball coach John Calipari and football coach Mark Stoops to two-year contract extensions. The deals theoretically keep Calipari as its men's basketball coach through 2024 and Stoops with the football program through 2022. Calipari has the Wildcats in the NCAA Sweet 16 once again. Stoops guided the Wildcats to a 7-6 finish and their first bowl since 2010 last season
A former Baylor football player has been arrested after a grand jury indicted him on three second-degree felony sexual assault counts arising from a 2013 incident while he was with the Bears. The Waco Tribune-Herald says former tight end Tre'Von Armstead was jailed in Beaumont, Texas, with bonds totaling $150,000. The indictment alleges Armstead forced a woman to perform sex.
Mike Rhoades has been introduced as the new men's basketball coach at VCU, where he was a popular assistant under former coach Shaka Smart. Rhoades returns to Richmond after posting a 47-52 record as head coach at Rice, including a 23-win season this year. He replaces Will Wade, who stepped down on Tuesday to become LSU's head coach.
MLB:
The United States has won the World Baseball Classic for the first time in four tries. Marcus Stroman was named the tournament MVP after carrying a no-hitter into the seventh inning to lead the Americans to an 8-0 rout of Puerto Rico in the title game at Los Angeles. Stroman allowed just three balls past the infield until Angel Pagan's double in the left-field corner leading off the seventh. The Toronto Blue Jays hurler silenced a Puerto Rican club that had outscored the opposition 55-26 while winning its first seven games of the tournament. Ian Kinsler slammed a two-run homer for the U.S.
In baseball’s spring training, the Yankees beat Philadelphia 7-3 and Miami won against the Mets 15-9.
Barry Bonds is back in spring training camp with the San Francisco Giants as he spends a week working on hitting with the team's minor leaguers. Once the Giants break camp, Bonds will be a special adviser to Giants CEO Larry Baer. Bonds was let go by the Miami Marlins last fall after one season as the team's hitting coach. The seven-time MVP played 15 seasons with the Giants and hit 762 career homers from 1986 through 2007.
Former major league pitcher, manager and general manager Dallas Green has died at age 82 after being in poor health for several years. Green guided the 1980 Phillies to the franchise's first World Series title and later managed the New York Yankees and Mets. He was GM and president of the Cubs after leaving the Phillies following the 1981 season. He was with the Cubbies when they captured the 1984 NL East title, the team's first postseason berth in 39 years. The 6-foot-5 Green was 20-22 as a pitcher for the Phillies, Senators and Mets from 1960-67.
The New York Mets are moving their exhibition game against Army to Citi Field. The Mets originally were scheduled to play the Black Knights at West Point on March 31. But the snowstorm that slammed the Northeast last week affected Army's diamond and forced the switch of fields. The teams now will play a seven-inning game March 31 at the Mets' home field. First pitch is scheduled for 1:10 p.m. It will be ninth exhibition game between Army and the Mets and first since 1984. Army athletic director Boo Corrigan says he hopes the teams can schedule a game at the academy in the near future. The Mets open the season April 3 against the Atlanta Braves at Citi Field.
NBA:
In the NBA, Boston topped Indiana 109-100, Utah bested the Knicks 108-101, Oklahoma City won against Philadelphia 122-97, Washington beat Atlanta 104-100, Denver defeated Cleveland 126-113, Milwaukee topped Sacramento 116-98, Chicago beat Detroit 117-95, and it was Charlotte over Orlando 109-102.
Duke freshman Jayson Tatum, Florida State guard Dwayne Bacon and Louisville guard Donovan Mitchell have announced that they intend to give up their remaining college eligibility to enter the NBA draft. None of the three has hired an agent. Tatum was second on the Blue Devils in scoring and rebounding, averaging 16.8 points and 7.3 boards. Bacon averaged 17.2 points and was a second-team All-ACC selection. Mitchell scored a team-high 15.6 points a game for the Cardinals this season. Also planning to leave early are Wake Forest sophomore forward John Collins, Syracuse's Tyler Lydon and California sophomore forward Ivan Rabb. Collins will not hire an agent, thus keeping open the option of returning to school for his junior season.
The 76ers say oft-injured center Joel Embiid will undergo surgery on a torn meniscus in his left knee. Embiid missed his first two NBA seasons with a foot injury. He played in 31 games this season, averaging 20.2 points and 7.8 rebounds per game before being sidelined again in late-January.
NHL:
In the NHL, the Islanders beat the Rangers 3-2, Toronto topped Columbus 5-2, and it was Anaheim over Edmonton 4-3.
The NHL will hold a hearing with Buffalo Sabres defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen (RAS'-muhs rihs-tah-LY'-nehn) on Thursday as the league determines whether he should be punished for his blindside on Pittsburgh's Jake Guentzel. The hit occurred midway through the first period of the Penguins' playoff-clinching win over the Sabres and left Guentzel with a concussion. Ristolainen was issued a five-minute major for interference and ejected from the game.
NFL:
The NFL is making plans to speed up the pace of games, including changing how video replays are handled and using a time clock for extra points. The league also is discussing with the TV networks how to make commercial breaks less intrusive. For officiating replays, the referee no longer would go under a hood to watch a play. Instead, a tablet will be brought to him on the field and he will consult with league headquarters in New York. The final call will be made in New York. Support by 75 percent of the 32 team owners would be needed at next week's annual meetings for passage of the proposal. In addition to a time clock for PATs when there is no TV break, the league is considering instituting a play clock after a touchdown. Also, to improve the flow of games on the field and for television audiences, commercial breaks would be reduced from 21 per game to 16, although each would last 30 seconds longer.
NASCAR:
NASCAR has suspended the crew chiefs for Brad Keselowski and Kevin Harvick for violations discovered following Sunday's Monster Energy race at Phoenix Raceway. Keselowski's car failed post-race inspection, leading NASCAR to suspend crew chief Paul Wolfe for three races and fine him $65,000 while docking Team Penske 35 driver and owner points. Harvick crew chief Rodney Childers was suspended for one race and fined $25,000, while Stewart-Haas Racing team was docked 10 driver and 10 team owner points for an illegal track bar mount and supports.
Two-time Daytona 500 winner Pete Hamilton has died at age 74. Hamilton won four Cup races, including the 1970 and '71 Daytona 500s. He also won twice at Talladega Superspeedway in 1971. Richard Petty Motorsports and NASCAR both announced Hamilton's death. Hamilton and Petty were teammates.
PGA:
World No. 1 Dustin Johnson has cruised into the next round of the Match Play Championship by earning a 5-and-3 victory over Webb Simpson. Second seed Rory McIlroy and No. 5 Jordan Spieth were knocked out in the opening round, while Jason Day withdrew to be with his ailing mother. McIlroy lost to Soren Kjeldsen, 2-and-1, and Spieth was a 4-and-2 loser to Hideto Tanihara. Fourth seed Hideki Matsuyama halved his match with Jim Furyk. Defending champion Jason Day conceded his match to Pat Perez, although details were unclear why the Australian stopped after a double bogey to fall 3 down before his departure.
Squash:
America's top squash player, Amanda Sobhy, will be sidelined for the rest of the year after surgery on a torn Achilles tendon. She hopes to return to the Professional Squash Association tour in December. Sobhy had surgery last week after injuring her ankle in the semifinals of a tournament in Floridablanca, Colombia. She was leading 2-0 when she pushed off to retrieve a drop shot and fell to the court. Sobhy says it felt like she'd been hit by her opponent's racket, and "when she said no, I knew right away I had snapped my Achilles." A recent Harvard graduate from Sea Cliff, New York, Sobhy went 62-0 in her college career. She reached No. 6 in the world this year, the highest-ranked U.S.-born player ever to compete.
Triple Crown:
Thunder Snow, winner of the UAE 2000 Guineas, is among six 3-year-olds made eligible to compete in the Triple Crown series during the late nomination period. The late nominees, which required a payment of $6,000 each, raise the total nominations to 425 for the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont stakes. The late nomination period closed Monday. The early nomination window closed in January and required a payment of $600. Ireland-bred Thunder Snow, owned by Godolphin Racing, is set to run Saturday in the $2 million UAE Derby in Dubai. The colt has three wins in seven career starts for trainer Saeed bin Suroor. The other late nominees are Hollywood Handsome, trained by Dallas Stewart; More Than Words, trained by Charlie LoPresti; Parlor, trained by Eddie Kenneally; Rapid Dial, trained by Ingrid Mason; and Stretch's Stone, trained by Bruce Levine.
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